Verona, March 1, 2026. The winners of the 24th Sol d’Oro Northern Hemisphere Competition were unveiled today during the first day of SOL Expo. The oils were selected through blind tasting by an international panel of 15 master tasters, who evaluated 315 oil samples from Italy, Spain, Turkey, Slovenia, Portugal, Lebanon, Jordan, Croatia and Greece. The “Sol d’Oro”, “d’Argento” and “di Bronzo” awards were assigned to the best performers in the categories “Extra Virgin” (further divided into “Light Fruity”, “Medium Fruity” and “Intense Fruity”), “PDO”, “Monovarietal” and “Organic”. The list of winners is completed by the best entries among the “Absolute Beginners” (with production between 500 and 1,499 liters) and “Big Producers” (companies marketing extra virgin olive oil with a total volume exceeding 1 million liters or with total revenues above €50 million). The finalist oils will be featured during the event—running until Tuesday (3/3) at Veronafiere—in two dedicated tastings.
“Once again this year we tasted oils of excellent quality, with outstanding aromatic and flavor profiles,” commented Marino Giorgetti, panel leader of the competition jury. “For some time we have observed a growing level of know-how among producers, who year after year refine their ability to manage and navigate the uncertainty that characterizes olive harvests, offering us truly surprising tastings.”
The 2026 edition of the competition featured a jury led by Marino Giorgetti and composed of the Italian judges Giulio Scatolini, Giuseppe Giordano, Fulvio Genovese, Simone De Nicola, Gianfranco De Felici, Annalisa Valetti and Gianpaolo Fasoli, alongside international judges Milena Bucar Miklavcic (Slovenia), Miciyo Yamada (Japan), Lourdes Gonzalez Koc (Peru), Na Xie (China), Josè Mingo Marinetti (Chile), Brigida Jimenez Herrera (Spain) and Ana Carrilho (Portugal).
Looking at the overall number of certificates awarded (including oils receiving the “Gran Menzione”), the Italian region of Puglia ranks firmly in first place with 21 recognitions, followed by Lazio (15) and Sicilia (11), while the ranking among foreign countries is dominated by Spain with 21 entries. Notably, Slovenia reached the podium twice for the first time in the “Extra Virgin Light Fruity” and “Absolute Beginners” categories. Narrowing the focus to oils on the various podiums, Lazio and Puglia stand out in the medal table, both with 7 medals.